Slowly But Surely

The Merriam-Webster online dictionary first definition of democracy is a “government by the people, especially rule of majority”. This definition is a solid base for what the United States government is. The basis of democracy is having the country decide what laws should be made, and that is done through the people voting for representatives they believe will voice their same opinion. In the 19th century, the idea of a democratic government was alive, but it had not been fine-tuned. The longer it existed, the more democratic the United States became.

In the beginning, America was not very democratic mainly because they had not been a cohesive government for a long time. They had the basic idea of government, being that the people voted for who they wanted to represent them. The problem was that the only people voting were rich, white males who owned property. This was because certain rules that were put in place that to vote, citizens had to own a certain amount of property. With only wealthy landowners voting, the people they were voting in were most likely similar in social status. This shows how too few people had the right to vote and that the government should let more people vote.

This graph shows how as the 19th century went on, the less restrictions on property and money were made. This led to an increase of states in the union. These new states showed how the government was becoming more structured and open to everyone. The Dorr War was also an example of how democracy was improving, because it showed how when the people were upset with their conditions, they fought for their rights.